Venezuela Activated Early Warning Plan After Airspace Violation
‘We won’t allow our skies to be used for drug trafficking,’ Commander Hernandez stressed.
On Monday, Domingo Hernandez, the strategic operational commander of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB), activated Venezuela’s Early Warning Plan after an aircraft violated the national airspace.
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“The order involved the deployment of air and ground resources for assistance, reconnaissance, search, and targeting missions,” he said through social media.
In the Portuguesa state, FANB jets located a small aircraft that did not identify itself or comply with the order to land. In an attempt to evade the FANB, the small aircraft performed evasive maneuvers with low-level flight and then executed a forced landing in a field, causing it to crash into the ground.
At the scene, FANB ground reconnaissance units determined that it was a Piper PA-34-200T Seneca II aircraft, registration PR-RP.
The text reads, “On Monday morning, Domingo Hernandez Larez, the head of the Strategic Operational Command of the National Armed Forces, reported that an aircraft irregularly entered the country’s airspace and was shot down in a field in Turen, in the Portuguesa state.
Venezuelan authorities found one deceased crew member and traces of criminal interest, such as a Mexican passport, a U.S. pilot’s license, and other materials linking the aircraft to drug trafficking.
Commander Hernandez warned that, in accordance with the Law on Comprehensive Airspace Defense Control, any aircraft that violates air traffic regulations will be declared a hostile target. “We will not allow our skies to be used for drug trafficking,” he said, reminding that Venezuela is a territory of peace.
On May 10, the Bolivarian National Armed Forces also disabled two aircraft and a clandestine runway possibly related to drug trafficking activities.
